There is a saying in football: Offense sells tickets but defense wins championships. In the divisional round, two predominantly defensive teams overcame some high-powered offenses. The Giants went into Lambeau and dominated the Packers. The Niners beat the Saints in a 4th quarter shootout (wait what?). The Patriots handed the Broncos their asses in a blowout and the Ravens escaped with a victory over a very game (but inexperienced) Texans team.
Baltimore at New England
3:00pm CBS
New England comes in having battered the Broncos, and the Ravens come in having barely beaten the Texans. While there isn’t much to say about the Patriots game, let’s take a closer look at how the Ravens made it this far.
First the Ravens offense was putrid during that game, whether this was a function of a good Texans defense or Joe Flacco being Joe Flacco is hard to determine. The defense essentially bailed them out with some stellar play and the Texans didn’t help their own cause with some questionable play calling. I firmly believe they could have tied the game and sent it to overtime but someone (Yates? The Head Coach? The OC?) decided to take a shot at the endzone with what was basically a Hail Mary pass despite having 2 timeouts and 2 minutes and less than 50 yards to go. The final play is mind boggling.
I don’t believe Flacco will lay a second stinkbomb. Home field advantage means very little in the championship round. The Patriots’ pass defense (and defense in general) is one of the worst in the league. Look for the Ravens to put some pressure on Brady and knock him off his game and give the offense a chance to win. Reed called out the entire offensive unit during the week so they will come out fired up. Sorry Patriots fans, you don’t get to go to the Super Bowl with that defense. You don’t deserve it.
Prediction: Baltimore 28 – Patriots 20
Giants at San Francisco
6:30pm FOX
The Giants come into this game rolling, shutting out the Falcons and going into Green Bay and handing them their asses on a platter. The Giants are perhaps the most complete team left in the playoffs, with the Niners being a close second. Both teams can play defense and both teams have decent offenses. Manning gives the Giants an edge here however.
To win, the Niners will need to put pressure on Manning and make them run the ball, something the Giants are a little shaky at. New York’s D-Line is monstrous and Alex Smith will be under serious pressure. If he can manage the game, avoid turnovers and the Niners can run the ball to keep the pressure off him and slow down the pass rush, they might have a fighting chance, but I just don’t see it happening. The Giants know how to win on the road and this game will be no exception.
Prediction: Giants 20 – San Francisco 17
Last Week 3-1
Playoffs 5-3
